


You Never Called

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Knives, Past Relationship(s), References to Depression, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Alone over the holidays, the reader is suddenly surprised by The Master who has come to swoop them away for another adventure.
Relationships: The Master (Dhawan)/Reader
Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035468
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	You Never Called

Being alone was a blessing. You didn’t have to answer to anyone, could walk around your house in nothing but an oversized shirt and pants, didn’t have to fight anyone for the bed covers. You could eat what you wanted when you wanted, whether it was a glorious feast of festive treats or the slightly stale slice of processed shit masquerading as bread like you were now.

With the peace to lose yourself in your thoughts, you were able to consider the realities of what was currently a miserable, fucked up world and then travel to distant planets, your overactive imagination the one thing capable of taking you away from the emptiness. It was wonderful, having no one to interrupt your imagined adventures, to be free of the incessant, mind numbing small talk that so usually filled the silence around the holidays.

Yes. Most of the time, you loved being alone. There were times, though, when you hated it. When the rest of the world was going home to their relatives, when they preached about the importance of solidarity and family and you were sat on your sofa with only the small, dying cactus on your coffee table for company, it really sucked.

It wasn’t that you had no one. There were people in your life that you adored more than anything else in the world but the current state of the world meant that you were unable to go and see them. You had spent many evenings crying about it, when you were at your most vulnerable, and today you simply felt nothing. No joy at watching your favourite movie. No sadness at being trapped here in your house. Just… nothing. Something was missing from your life and no matter how hard you looked you couldn’t find it.

On autopilot, you padded into the kitchen to make yourself a hot drink. That always lifted your mood a little, and it would help to fight both the chill in your bones and the tension in your muscles from sitting in one place for so long. The water was below the line on the kettle but you knew it would be enough for one cup and switched it on anyway.

Biscuits were in the cupboard over head and you grabbed a few even though you weren’t really hungry. You dropped them on a plate and stared at the mugs along the counter top. None were clean. You chose a suitably festive one with a cute fair isle pattern, a gift from years ago which had, no doubt, come with fluffy socks.

The hot water burned your skin as you haphazardly rinsed it out. The kettle clicked behind you, the windows already fogging up from the steam. In the corner, though, a small section was free of condensation and your shoulders slumped at what you saw in the reflection. This couldn’t be happening. Your day had been bad enough as it was.

You set the dripping mug down on the side and turned slowly. “Master.”

He shot you a blinding smile and, despite everything, your heart skipped a beat. He really was a gorgeous bastard when he wanted to be. Totally disarmingly handsome in a way that left you even more nervous. You shouldn’t still feel this way towards him. It was pathetic. And yet there you were, once again blown away by the beauty of the man.

The Time Lord jumped up onto your counter, legs open wide as he fiddled with the largest of the knives from your chopping block. “You and I need to have a chat.”

You nodded, definitely not about to deny him that when he was twisting around a blade sharp enough to remove a finger like it was nothing. Still, you backed up until you felt the hard edge of the sink press against your back, a sense of security in your chest knowing that The Master could only attack you from the front. You wet your lips then breathed a quiet, “Okay.”

“Don’t be scared, love. No plans to kill you tonight.” The instinctual sigh of relief barely passed your lips before he added, a devious glint in his eye, “Although, a knife would be a good way to do it. It’s personal, you know? I think you deserve that after all we’ve been through.”

You swallowed deeply, well aware of what he wasn’t saying. You could still feel the warmth of his blood on your hands after all these months. No matter how many times you’d scrubbed the skin raw, the image of the dark, sticky liquid dripping from your fingers never left you.

“What do you want, Master?”

His lips pursed tightly, annoyed that you weren’t playing his game. The Master was suddenly in front of you, the knife thankfully discarded on the side. You arched back, desperate to put a little space between you, but he simply countered the move by planting his hands either side of you and trapping you against the sink.

“You never called.”

Your thoughts came to a crashing halt. “What?”

He glared down at you, a deep set frown on his face. “It is polite to call after you try to kill someone and check that they’re okay.”

“It’s definitely not.”

“Maybe not on this backwards shit hole.”

Squeezing out of his grip, amazed that he actually let you move away, and even more surprised that he allowed you anywhere near the knife considering that the last time you’d had one you plunged it into his chest, you clasped your hands behind your head in a desperate attempt to process what was happening.

This was ridiculous.

You’d travelled with The Master for years. It had changed you, warped your view of life in a way that you were still trying to undo. You’d seen that there was so much more out there, that the universe was brilliant and terrifying and all together wonderful, except when it wasn’t. And that last trip had been far from fantastic. An entire planet of people suffering, subjugated by an unjust ruler.

For someone so quick to maim and destroy, The Master had been adamant that you not interfere and set the free. One thing had led to another and the argument had turned violent. Somehow you’d ended up with a knife and then he was bleeding out. You’d known he would kill you if he survived, and you weren’t going to sit around and watch him die either, so you ran. You ran and called in every favour you had amassed over the years to get you home.

That was five years ago. In all that time, you’d never heard so much as a whisper about The Master and had moved on, locked the guilt away and tried to fall back into normal human life. Naturally, as evidenced by your disconnect from the rest of the world’s excitement over the festive season, you weren’t quite there yet.

Shaking your head, you turned back to him, infuriated to see something akin to amusement on his face. “Can you not?” The Master simply smirked. “Okay. Let me get this straight. You’re not here to kill me?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, love. It’s tedious.”

“And you’re here because… What? You want an apology?”

Bizarrely, as if this wasn’t strange enough already, The Master matched your confused expression. “Being back on this bloody planet has slowed you down a bit, hasn’t it? No, pet. I’m here to take you to the Traxia constellation. One of the stars is about to go supernova.”

“Why?”

“Natural end of its life cycle. Do they teach you nothing at school?”

“No, I know why stars go supernova. I mean, why do you want to take me? I tried to kill you.”

The Master rolled his eyes, visibly growing impatient now. “Yes and it was very romantic of you. You’ll need a coat. Had a little problem with gremlins in the TARDIS so the heating’s out.” He clapped his hands. “Chop chop. We haven’t got all day.”

Utterly baffled but unable to think of a reason why you shouldn’t go and watch a star go supernova – especially when the other option was to stay here and be miserable – you followed him through the house, plucking a coat from the hanger as you passed. The Master’s words played on repeat through your mind, specifically how he considered a stabbing to be a romantic gesture, and as you watched him dart around the TARDIS, flicking switches and spinning dials, you shook your head and smiled.

You didn’t believe in Christmas miracles but maybe, just maybe, this was as close to one as you would get. A little part of you that had felt empty since you returned to Earth, that had separated you from the other 7 billion humans on the planet and left you feeling out of the loop and alone even in a group of your closest friends, suddenly felt full once again.


End file.
